Lakes + Always
with Midnight Caller
» Enola Fall - April 19, 2006
» Lakes + Always - March 15, 2006
I won’t lie to you.
I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this show.
The first show by ex-pat Tasmanian promotion team Bleeding Hearts featured local group Midnight Caller supporting Melbourne’s Lakes and Always - both of which fit into the ‘one-man-band’ category.
Startling slightly later than they were supposed to (as far as I am aware), Midnight Caller laid down a very solid set, which has come to be expected of them. New songs were slotted in-between old numbers with relative ease, and it was easy to see with the newer pieces how the band has grown and furthered their collaborative song writing efforts. The overall sound was quite good as well - in my past experience, the guitar tones tended to be a bit piercing, and somewhat less than ideal, though things seem to be sorted.
I will also add that, between bands, there was a lot of live Neil Diamond played through the house system - I’ve no idea whatsoever how this fits in with garage-art-indie-rock expressionism, but I, for one, am certainly not complaining.
Next up was the first of the Melbourne one-man-band extravaganza - Always. Described on his website as “percussive pop/dance songs with extreme dramatic vocals, like that of a child/mid-twenties woman”, Alex Vivian really does know how to capture the attention of a crowd. Seeing an energetic young man such as him, jumping about on stage in a rolled-up t-shirt and a pair of small athletics shorts while chanting phrases, singing melodies and beating rhythms into microphones going through looping pedals, is a sight to behold.
End of the set, cue more Neil Diamond.
Finally, it was time for Lakes. Comprising solely of Sean Bailey - ex 50 Million Clowns/George W Bush - the performance was an absolute treat - sonically speaking, of course. While one man on stage with a keyboard, some sound modules and a drum machine might not read like the regular mind-blowing live show, you must remember that music is all about sound - and there was certainly a lot of that. Pounding, distorted rhythms, along with otherworldly keyboard drones and jutting, cacophonous hits, set the scene for an ingenious array of musical pieces, all smartly constructed and well composed.
Unfortunately, the turnout was a little lower than hoped for (around 75 people, from what I could gather), but the egg really was on the face of those who didn’t attend - sure, there were 2 other gigs on in Hobart and a large show in Launceston that night - but rest assured, not one would have come close to the wonderful experience that was Lakes and Always, proving ‘good’ doesn’t always have to mean ‘succesful’.
